


The Forest's Spirit

by Patherfind



Series: Bastion the best boi [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: "coding" talk, Bastion-centric, Faulty wiring, Fluff, Gen, Mostly Fluff, Nature, Overwatch AU, Rust, Wear and tear, some angst soon probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-28 16:44:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19816348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patherfind/pseuds/Patherfind
Summary: Set in a timeline where Overwatch never discovered the rogue Bastion unit. Then skip ahead a few years, and E54 is in need of many repairs.Join the best boi in his adventure through the woods with his best friend, Ganymede.And maybe a few others along the way.





	The Forest's Spirit

Nature had an odd way about it. Seemingly both an enemy and ally of man, supplying them with needed resources and food, but then snatching it away. Decaying the creation of man, reclaiming them back to be used for the animals. Nature had the ability to take everything away, based on a fickle order of things... The cycle of how the rain fell from the sky, the plants breathing life into the air.   
It was a dangerous, fascinating force. A certain sentry had discovered this upon their awakening, years and years ago.

The woods sang a soft, calm song. A song of twirling leaves, skittering animals, calls of birds, trickling streams through rocky crags. The wind rushing through blades of grass, interrupted by metal contraptions lying within the fields. Rocks falling, bugs buzzing with activity. Animals burrowing, branches creaking... 

...

Metal did not react well to long exposure to the elements. Rust tinged at the edges of Bastion. Their wiring, joints, processors. As time dragged on and on, though enjoyable time in the woods, nature sought to claim more of the former war machine. Pain beeped and buzzed through their systems, giving the same distorted warnings. 

BATTERY LIFE DURATION... 13%. CHARGING PHASE ACTIVATION RECOMMENDED.  
ACCESSING DAMAGES...  
Weapon integrity... CALCULATING... 11%. REPAIRS REQUIRED...  
Hull integrity... CALCULATING... 37%. REPAIRS REQUIRED...  
Data integrity... CALCULATING... CORRUPTED CHIP. MAINTENANCE RECOMMENDED.

ATTEMPTING COMMUNICATION...   
LINE 263 CONNECTION... FAILED  
LINE 547 CONNECTION... FAILED  
LINE 138 CONNECTION... FAILED

...TERMINATING SELF DIAGNOSIS...

Bastion blinked as the processors went through their daily run through. No connections would work, Bastion knew. He had tried them many times before, before they had discovered...

They slowly staggered through the woods as the sun set. Their battery was getting low, alarms slowly blinking on their hud, telling the unit to recharge. Though they still had a ways to travel... The set destination was a field, a field of... Rusted machines and flowers. 

Step. Step. Their flat foot-plates gave heavy thuds against the damp forest ground as they trudged along. Their movements were almost overly mechanical, to the point of almost being dysfunctional. A grinding sound emanated from the unit’s joints, rust, dirt, and rocks hindering anything that may have been ‘quick’ for the bot. Vines hung from their shoulders and head, twining around one of their legs. A patch of flowers ironically grew along the side of their recon weapon..  
The turret sentry at their back sloshed with each step, holding old rainwater and fallen leaves. Twigs, even, as their best friend had deposited them there for safe keeping.   
Pieces of metal on Bastion were dented, either from falls or... Bullets. The memories of those were corrupted with static, so thankfully the unit did not have to reflect on these in the many moments of silence. Chips filled their hull, exposing wearing down and worn wire. Dirt, wood chips, rainwater. All of them had seeped in and caused the omnic quite a bit of trouble. Though he tried his best to continue his upkeep, it was growing difficult with the rust and vines entangling their one good hand.   
Bastion dared not harm the plant. He had done enough harm, now being self condemned to live in these woods, far from where any humans could be harmed by him. Where they could harm him. 

All the damage that should have kept the Automaton down did not. E54 was still kicking. Well, not kicking. They wandered the woods peacefully with their bird trailing ahead, gliding gracefully in the soft breeze. Bastion slowly lifted his head to watch them, optic dimmed from declining battery life.   
His friend sang him a short tune. Bastion hummed it back, voice seeming to scratch slightly on the second to last note. This happened often. It was frustrating to the omnic, but he could easily shrug it off. As he walked with them, the little yellow bird trailed further and further ahead of him. Lately this would happen more and more often, with their friend being a swift bird, Bastion being large, bulky, and in need of serious repairs. 

Bastion triled a tone that sounded slightly stressed. Not on a level of ‘crying’, or anything, but it did make them feel nervous to not be around their only friend. The sweet yellow bird seemed to turn and look at the omnic, who had their optic trained on them. She chirped to him, tweet sounding loud rather than the soft song of earlier. 

“Dwee?” The omnic seemed to question their feathered friend’s tone, only to step down hard and find nothing beneath them. 

“BWE!” Bastion chirped in alarm, their top heavy body causing them to tumble down the hill. He landed awkwardly on his front, faceplate pressed against a tree, foot caught on an over extended tree root. 

DAMAGE SUSTAINED... PROCESSING...

Though omnics usually do not experience things such as dizziness... Bastion could see little birds floating in their optics for a few seconds. 

INTERNAL TEMPERATURES EXCEEDING PARAMETERS. VENTING.

How had they not known about this dip in the land? Bastion didn’t move, letting their overheating form expel some heat through a few partially uncovered vents.

BATTERY CRITICAL. ENTERING RECHARGE PHASE IN 30... 29... 28...

Bastion beeped in concern as the timer began. He didn’t want to shut down. At least... Let him get somewhere safe. 

Friend was perched upon a branch on a low tree, staring at Bastion intently. She cooed and tilted her head slightly to him. Bastion beeped in distress, tugging their leg from the branch. It wouldn’t budge, the extended metal being jammed into the offending tree limb. 

“Bzzz wee..” Bastion said with another series of beeps and boops, voice sounding higher than usual. Their birdy friend noticed his tone and chirped in concern for their friend.

With a sharp tug, Bastion managed to rip off the chunk of wood, bringing it along with their foot in the process.

SCANNING AREA...  
THREATS DETECTED... (0)

10... 9... 8

Bastion quickly looked around, then stood up as quickly as they could, which wasn’t very fast...  
3...  
2...  
The Omnic panicked, positioning themself against the tree he had originally fallen into. 

1...

Before Bastion could say goodbye to their friend, or even explain what was going on to them, their optic flicked off and they shut down.

**Author's Note:**

> I love Bastion,,, he needs more content. If you have any feedback or just reactions or something, you could maybe comment that! It'd be easier to update if I knew anyone liked this haha


End file.
